WEBVTT >> ♪ LETTING GO OF EVERY SINGLE DREAM ♪ >> SHE WAS KIND, FIRM, DEDICATED, AND READY FOR WHATEVER CAME HER WAY. REPORTER: THERE’S NO WAY TO BETTER DESCRIBE WHAT MATTERED MOST TO DEIDRE MENGEDOHT THAN HEARING IT STRAIGHT FROM HER. >> I’M SO PROUD OF YOU. WAY TO GO. REPORTER: SHE SENT THAT VIDEO TO HER 9-YEAR-OLD SON, PRESTON. >> DEIDRE LOVED PRESTON MORE THAN WORDS COULD EVER DESCRIBE. SHE WANTED TO GIVE PRESTON THE BEST LIFE THAT WAS FILLED WITH LOVE, JOY, AND LAUGHTER. REPORTER: DETECTIVE DEE-DEE AS SHE WAS CALLED, MADE AN IMPACT ON EVERYONE SHE MET. >> WITH AN UNCANNY ABILITY TO BUILD TRUST WITH PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY COULD SEE THAT SHE CARED. REPORTER: SHE WORKED AT LMPD FOR MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS. MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE DEPARTMENT. >> DEIDRE EMBODIED ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS A POLICE OFFICER SHOULD AND THAT WAS EVIDENT BY THE FACT THAT SHE, AS A DETECTIVE, MADE A TRAFFIC STOP ON CHRISTMAS EVE, JUST A SHORT WHILE AFTER WISHING ALL OF HER FELLOW OFFICERS IN THE 2ND DIVISION A MERRY CHRISTMAS WHILE WEARING A CRAZY SANTA HAT. REPORTER: FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE HER AS A WOMAN WITH A BEAUTIFUL SMILE, WHO LOVED TO HELP AND CHERISHED HER FAMILY. >> FAMILY WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO DEIDRE, WHETHER BY BLOOD OR THROUGH HER EYES, SHE WOULD DO ANYTHING SHE COULD FOR YOU REPORTER: OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH, A FINAL HONOR FOR THE DETECTIVE. ONE MORE CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE. >> DEIDRE, THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A BLESSING TO US ALL. THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND YOU AND ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE GOOD IN PEOPLE. REPORTER: A FITTING FAREWELL FOR A WOMAN WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN SO MANY LIVES. >> I HOPE THAT EACH OF US LEAVE HERE WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT OF DEIDRE’S SPIRIT >> THIS IS THE FINAL CALL FOR A IN 294 -- CAR 294, DETECTIVE DEIDRE MEGA

The city of Louisville is saying goodbye to fallen Louisville Metro Police Department officer Det. Deidre Mengedoht.Family, friends and more than 3,000 police officers from all over the country gathered Monday at Southeast Christian Church for the 2nd Division officer's funeral.Mengedoht was killed on I-64 during a traffic stop on Christmas Eve when her cruiser was struck by a truck and caught fire. The driver, MSD employee Roger Burdette, was charged with murder of a police officer and DUI. He admitted to taking multiple prescription drugs.Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement:"Today, we honor the life and service of Detective Deidre Mengedoht — a fiercely positive, upbeat person who loved her work and cared deeply for people. She was a great ambassador for LMPD and an example of compassionate service. We have to follow her example as we work today, tomorrow, next year and forever to do all we can for her grieving family. Her death is a painful reminder of the sometimes sudden and unpredictable dangers our officers face. Thanks to all LMPD officers for making the choice to do this work. Detective Mengedoht's time with us was far too brief. But she will live on in our memories and in the way we approach our work and each other.""She was kind, firm, dedicated and ready for whatever came her way," LMPD Chief Steve Conrad said."I hope that each of us leaves here with just a little bit of Deidre's spirit." "Deidre, thank you for being such a blessing to us all," Mengedoht's best friend, Janelle Briscoe, said. "Thank you for investing in the lives of people around you and always looking for the good in people."Mengedoht, 32, was a graduate of Eastern High School and received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisville. She joined LMPD's training academy in March 2011 and became a sworn officer in October 2011. Mengedoht trained in LMPD's 1st Division and later transferred to the 2nd Division, where she served as a beat officer and worked her way up to the rank of detective.Mengedoht was laid to rest in a private ceremony at Hebron Cemetery in Bullitt County. Mourners lined portions of the procession route to show support.She's survived by her 9-year-old son, Preston, mom and dad, Brenda and Chuck Young, and father Wayne Ackert.The LMPD Foundation has set up a fund for her son. Donations will be accepted here.

Mengedoht was killed on I-64 during a traffic stop on Christmas Eve when her cruiser was struck by a truck and caught fire. The driver, MSD employee Roger Burdette, was charged with murder of a police officer and DUI. He admitted to taking multiple prescription drugs.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement:

"Today, we honor the life and service of Detective Deidre Mengedoht — a fiercely positive, upbeat person who loved her work and cared deeply for people. She was a great ambassador for LMPD and an example of compassionate service. We have to follow her example as we work today, tomorrow, next year and forever to do all we can for her grieving family. Her death is a painful reminder of the sometimes sudden and unpredictable dangers our officers face. Thanks to all LMPD officers for making the choice to do this work. Detective Mengedoht's time with us was far too brief. But she will live on in our memories and in the way we approach our work and each other."

"She was kind, firm, dedicated and ready for whatever came her way," LMPD Chief Steve Conrad said."I hope that each of us leaves here with just a little bit of Deidre's spirit."

"Deidre, thank you for being such a blessing to us all," Mengedoht's best friend, Janelle Briscoe, said. "Thank you for investing in the lives of people around you and always looking for the good in people."

Mengedoht, 32, was a graduate of Eastern High School and received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisville. She joined LMPD's training academy in March 2011 and became a sworn officer in October 2011.

Mengedoht trained in LMPD's 1st Division and later transferred to the 2nd Division, where she served as a beat officer and worked her way up to the rank of detective.

Mengedoht was laid to rest in a private ceremony at Hebron Cemetery in Bullitt County. Mourners lined portions of the procession route to show support.

She's survived by her 9-year-old son, Preston, mom and dad, Brenda and Chuck Young, and father Wayne Ackert.

The LMPD Foundation has set up a fund for her son. Donations will be accepted here.